Barclays Upgrades Hilton Worldwide (HLT) to Overweight
Barclays analyst Brandt Montour upgraded Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) from Equalweight to Overweight with a price target of $168.00 (from $151.00).
The analyst comments "Upgrading HLT to OW from EW: 1) we consider HLT to be a best-in-class Lodging C-corp. with the highest and most resilient net unit growth among the asset-light peer set; as Global RevPAR decelerates in these later stages of post-COVID recovery, we think HLT’s outstanding net unit growth (NUG) will become more dear to investors, 2) NUG should reaccelerate faster than peers, based on pipeline chain-scale positioning and a material boost from layering in early success with its recently launched Spark conversion brand, and 3) relative valuation, which we see as a <0.5x EV/EBITDA premium to MAR, under-appreciates sustainable higher unit growth, in our view. To be clear, HLT’s absolute valuation appears full as well, so for us this is more of a relative long preference."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Hilton Worldwide click here. For more ratings news on Hilton Worldwide click here.
Shares of Hilton Worldwide closed at $147.44 yesterday.
